About Merrions Wood
Merrions Wood is a wonderful oak and beech woodland 3 miles from Walsall town centre.
Merrions Wood Description
A Cathedral of Trees
Merrions Wood is a wonderful oak and beech woodland 3 miles from Walsall town centre. Most people, when they visit for the first time, are amazed that this secret woodland is there, tucked away with its beautiful but unassuming entrance next to the historic Merrions Wood Lodge. From the A34 Birmingham Road, the sign is almost hidden – but many people have been rewarded by discovering this traditional English bluebell woodland. A walk up the main path (which is actually part of the Beacon Way national trail) will amaze you at all times of the year, as the canopy of leaves and branches above form a natural cathedral.
Its hard to choose which is the best season to visit Merrions Wood, as it is beautiful in spring when the bluebells are in bloom, absolutely alive with woodland birds in the summer, and glorious with colour in the autumn. Even the winter allows magnificent views of the ancient trees, (the woodland may be as old as 12th century! ) with their frosty branches against the sky.
But it’s not all about trees at Merrions Wood! There is a beautiful shady woodland pool which spends its summer reflecting shafts of sunlight from the woodland canopy. A rustic bridge adds to the feeling that you might bump into a hobbit any minute! There is also a playing field at the Chapel Lane entrance to the site, where families enjoy picnics and ball games. Many activities take place in the reserve, including guided walks and talks Walsall Countryside Services, and activities with school and play groups.
Reviews
A few photos from the woods this morning, has anyone spotted any of the things in the pictures while out on your walks?
There’s still time to take part in the Butterfly Conservation Trusts big butterfly count, you can find everything you need in the link on their post, has anyone seen any butterflies in Merrions Wood this year? We’d love to know if you have and don’t forget to share your pics 🦋
Good Morning All, a tree has fallen and is blocking the Birmingham Road kissing gate, there is no access to Merrions Wood through this gate at the moment, countryside services have been contacted and will be along soon to remove the fallen tree. #fallentree #merrionswood #nature
Beautiful White Satin Moth, bit sleepy this morning, who else thinks Moths have the cutest faces! 😍 #whitesatinmoth #moth #mothlife #wildlife #merrionswood
A few tips from The Wildlife Trusts to help out nature in this hot weather. Any little thing you can do will make a big difference.
Poor Doggo! We’ve all had days like this, hopefully nothing a good Walkies in the woods can’t fix though 😊
Newly moulted female earwig, you can tell the males from the females by looking at the cerci, in males the cerci (pincers) are strongly curved while in the female they are only slightly curved. #earwig #whiteearwig #moultedearwig #insects #merrionswood
Old and new specimens of Wolfs Milk Slime Mould in Merrions Wood this afternoon, have you ever spotted any yourself and wondered what it was? Lycogala epidendrum, commonly known as wolf's milk, groening's slime is a cosmopolitan species of myxogastrid amoeba which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November. #wolfsmilkslimemold #slimemolds #lycogalaepidendrum #merrionswood
Why not have a go at this wild flower quiz from The Woodland Trust and see what score you get. A lot of these flowers you can find throughout the year in Merrions Wood, have you seen any? If so share your pictures with us in the comments 😊
Hi everyone, please be aware that today’s bad weather has unfortunately bought down one of the Oak trees along the avenue path, please don’t try to move it yourself (countryside services will be out soon to asses and move)due to the ditch either side it isn’t very easy to get past so please use an alternative path (the back path on the golf course side) please remember to take extra care when visiting the woods in these weather conditions. #fallentree #fallenoak #besafe #merrionswood #safetyfirst
We are looking forward to seeing all your pictures from Merrions Wood this coming summer, we hope that some of you will be taking part in this June’s #30dayswild challenge and having some wild time in Merrions Wood, don’t forget to tag us in your pictures so we can see what you have been up to 😊 head over to @thewildlifetrusts page for more 30 Days Wild info 😊 #merrionswood #thewildlifetrusts #wildlife
Just wanted to say a big thank you to Sal Heaton Barker and Bow's Buddies Pet & Taxi Services who have both donated towards the printing cost of the next Merrions Wood newsletter, hopefully this will be printed and distributed within the next couple of weeks.
Just a little reminder that the next Friends meeting will be this Thursday 16th May at 7.30pm at the meeting room at St Margaret’s church on Chapel Lane. All are welcome to attend wether you just want to come and find out what’s going on or if you have an issue to raise yourself. See you there!Just a little reminder that the next Friends meeting will be this Thursday 16th May at 7.30pm at the meeting room at St Margaret’s church on Chapel Lane. All are welcome to attend wether you just want to come and find out what’s going on or if you have an issue to raise yourself. See you there!
If you are wondering wether to visit the woods these days especially with the lovely sunny evenings maybe have a read of this to help you decide. Happy walking all 😊
Don’t forget to sign up to the Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild challenge and get your free 30 Days Wild pack 🦊🐝🦗🦋🍃🌸
Hi Everyone, I have had a message to say that a mobile phone has been found in the woods today, if you or anyone you know has lost their phone please get in touch. Please share this post so we can hopefully get the phone back to it’s owner. Thank you!Hi Everyone, I have had a message to say that a mobile phone has been found in the woods today, if you or anyone you know has lost their phone please get in touch. Please share this post so we can hopefully get the phone back to it’s owner. Thank you!
A big thank you to those of you who made it out today to help with our Spring Clean #litterheroes you are all amazing! We managed to collect a huge amount of litter and we are hoping to have another litter picking day in a couple of weeks time to do the areas we couldn’t get to today. If you are interested in any future litter picks drop us a message and let us know.
Just a quick reminder that we have our Big Spring Clean litter pick today we are here until 1pm if you can still make it down to help out, just look out for me and I can give you any equipment you need 😊